The word around the campfire is that Big Data is the future of everything, including talent development. Big Data gets a lot of press, but it’s not all about data and not all of the data is big.
Let’s look at the case of Google and the M&Ms. Here’s a basic description from a Washington Post article titled, “Google crunches data on munching in office.”
“Employees were eating too much of the free candy and that, the firm surmised, might hinder efforts to keep workers healthy and happy. So in what could be called Project M&M, a special ops force of behavioral science PhDs conducted surveys of snacking patterns, collected data on the proximity of M&M bins to any given employee, consulted academic papers on food psychology, and launched an experiment.”
The process that Google follows is a good process. You need a good process if you want answers that will make a difference. In that process, the data is only a small part of the story.
Nothing happens until someone asks a question. In this case, it’s about M&Ms, but it could be about talent development. The environment and reading and conversations all influence who asks what question. It’s a matter of judgment.
Someone decides whether the question is worth answering. Not all questions can be answered and not all answers will help you do better talent development. Biases and the availability of data and information play a part. It’s a matter of judgment.
Someone decides how to answer the question. The method could be an experiment or a study or a survey or secondary research or a combination of all of the above. It’s a matter of judgment.
Someone interprets the answer. You’ve got an answer. So what? Someone has to analyze the answer. It’s a matter of judgment.
Someone decides what to do next. Sometimes it’s nothing. Sometimes it’s a major overhaul. It’s a matter of judgment.
Are you picking up the pattern here? You can use Big Data or any data to improve the way you do talent development. But the important parts of the process aren’t done by machine. They’re things only human beings can do. They’re matters of judgment.
